This change implementation plan has been created to guide the delivery of the four stages of the Change Path Model, developed by Cawsey, Deszca, and Ingols (2016), and this plan reflects Hall and Hord’s (2006) six essential functions of change facilitators. The beginning of this chapter outlines the change implementation priorities and is followed by a description of the change implementation monitoring and evaluation processes. Next, stakeholder reactions and resistance to change are analyzed through methods that help leaders understand stakeholder mindsets. Finally, the implementation planning process is presented through a series of four Plan, Do, Study and Act (PDSA) cycles followed-up with a plan to communicate change. Chapter 3 concludes with a series of next steps and recommendations which may further the development of this organizational improvement plan.
Implementation Priorities
The implementation strategy presented in this OIP prioritizes the role of incorporating
Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) into coaching for improving student engagement, learning, and
leadership interactions. Demonstrating and promoting IQ in leadership practice, and in teaching and learning, will require ongoing cultural support, consultation, and collaboration since in the current model, mostly non-Inuit coaches and principals hold these leadership positions. To remediate this lack of Inuit leadership positionality and cultural influence on leadership and coaching, the centring of IQ is recommended. This is recommended because it emphasizes the importance of IQ to education, student and teacher learning and school improvement, and it suggests to leaders that IQ is central to the leadership position that they serve. Figure 4. places IQ at the centre of the coaching processes and recognizes the interrelationships between learning,
literacy, leadership, and coaching. Centring IQ ensures that IQ influences and informs the work the coaches do with leaders and learners and in planning for literacy and learning development.
Figure 4. Centring IQ in the Coaching Implementation Process
The coaching strategies described in this implementation plan are intended to guide the change management responsibilities of the coach and identify the significant organizational actions for system-wide integration of leadership and coaching. Hall and Hord (2006) presents six functions of leaders these functions include; developing, articulating, and communicating a shared vision; planning and providing resources; supporting professional learning; checking on progress; providing continuous assistance; and creating a context supportive of change—are all elemental in the change-based implementation process. These functions guide the
implementation process and are important elements in planning for change-based leadership action, in this context. Hall and Hord’s (2006) six functions support the coaching process which
IQ
Coaching
Learning
Literacy Leadership
also strive to create and maintain communities of learners within an organization. The six functions of change leaders are presented in Figure 5.
Figure 5. The Six Essential Functions of Change Facilitators. Adapted from Hall, G. E., & Hord,
S. M. (2006). Implementing change: Patterns, principles and potholes (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
To further the development of the implementation process, Toll’s (2018) models of coaching and Donohoo’s (2017) efficacy-enhancing protocol further identify the coaching priorities of this organizational improvement plan. These models have been chosen since they offer methods that may increase the use of IQ and also support sustainable improvement through coaching for collaboration. For successful implementation, coaches may seek to integrate and centre IQ into their daily practice. Demonstrating IQ in these four areas—coaching, learning, literacy, and leadership—involves using methods that improve and increase levels of
consultation, communication, and collaborative action. This implementation plan situates coaching priorities in the affective, behavioral, intellectual, and collaborative realms.
Providing continuous assistance Developing, articulating, and communicating a shared vision Planning and providing resources Supporting professional learning Checking on
progress Creating a context
supportive of change
The activities to support the implementation of these priorities are not singular, isolated events—they may occur in conjunction with each other. For example, evidence of improved behavior in accordance with IQ may not be realized until after coaching methods that improve affective or intellectual learning are initiated. Likewise, results may vary throughout the implementation process and as the levels of cooperation and collaboration increase. Priority 1: Affective Coaching
The affective domain in coaching focuses on how teachers feel. Positive outcomes of affective coaching may come about through the delivery of initiatives that make teachers feel excited, committed to their work, and innovative (Toll, 2018). When coaches and school leaders work to make teachers feel successful and positive with their work, trust is also built.
Trust is a critical element of organizations where collective teacher efficacy is
demonstrably high and is an element of the affective domain in coaching. Trust influences the quantity and quality of social persuasion as groups work together and collaborate and building trust is way to increase collective efficacy (Donohoo, 2017). Thus, for social persuasion to be effective it becomes dependent upon the credibility, expertise, and trustworthiness of the group and among individuals (Goddard, Hoy, & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2004). Establishing high levels of trust helps to increase teachers’ confidence and create a learning environment where teachers may be successful in achieving individual and school-based improvement outcomes. Coaches may work to establish greater levels of trust by openly respecting teachers’ professional expertise (L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean, 2010). Prioritizing how teachers feel and showing respect for their
professional expertise are aligned with methods aimed at increasing teacher efficacy and establishing improved affective states.
Improving affective states may be a powerful method of setting the foundation for
enhanced organizational learning and may directly translate into greater collaborative action over time. Improving affective states and establishing trust may further the implementation of IQ values and ways of being and, indeed, directly represent IQ in practice. IQ is more than sets of knowledge and ways of being; it is an affective state itself. Improving the affective states of teachers and individuals in schools may result in an increase of Piliriqatigiingniq, working together for a common good, and Tunnganarniq, being welcoming and open. Likewise, working to influence affective states is one of four beliefs that result in an increase in collective teacher efficacy (Donohoo, 2017). Improving affective states may also strengthen the cohesiveness of teams as members begin to develop a strong sense of belonging to the group and a commitment to collaborative action (Conzemius & O’Neill, 2014). Establishing positive affective states in schools develops a foundation for coaching and organizational learning.
Priority 2: Behavioral Coaching
The behavioral realm of coaching focuses on how teachers communicate and interact with students, colleagues, and families. It prioritizes the interactions that groups and teams have with each other. A focus on behavioral coaching is a logical next step since teachers’ behaviour is the most visible aspect of teaching (Toll, 2018). This priority recognizes that coaches may work to influence leaders, teachers, and teams towards developing a greater understanding of IQ’s behavioral realm. This may be achieved through modelling, observation, and effective feedback processes. The behavioral realm may be best delivered along with the input of, and consultation with, and observation of cultural experts, Elders, and Inuit educators. Coaching to influence the behavioral realm of teachers is practising Piliriqatigiingniq, working together for a common cause, and Pilimmaksarniq, the development of skills and knowledge through
observation, mentoring, practice, and effort. It is through improving these group-level attributes that the behavioral realm seeks to influence positive changes in behavior that supports methods to increase working together and skills development. Coaching to influence a shift towards improved behavioral and communication norms sets a foundation for “establishing trust, maintaining confidentiality, and effective communication” (L’Allier et al., 2010, p. 547). Priority 3: Intellectual Coaching
The goal of intellectual coaching is to create learning experiences that cause teachers to question the prior beliefs, enhance decision making, and increase reflective practice. Intellectual coaching involves providing mastery and vicarious experiences. Hattie and Zierer (2018) state that mastery learning “focuses on the teachers’ skills in teaching and knowing their impact on student learning” (p.120). Mastery experiences, which may directly influence intellectual development, are considered the most powerful source of efficacy (Goddard et al., 2004). Similarly, vicarious experiences provide opportunities for teachers to observe skills or methods being modelled by someone else. It is this combination of mastery experiences and vicarious experiences the guides intellectual coaching strategies.
Intellectual and behavioral coaching work together to increase the understanding of, and the application of, new skills and learning processes. Other processes that influence intellectual development include goal setting, modelling, observation, and generative dialogue about the approach being implemented. Intellectual coaching in the context of IQ recognizes the IQ value of Pilimmaksarniq, specifically capacity building through knowledge and skills. As IQ is integrated into learning and literacy instructional methods, and into collaborative work, new learning is applied to practice and Pilimmaksarniq is demonstrated.
When working with a focus on intellectual development, coaches are concerned with what teachers are thinking. Throughout this process, coaches invite teachers to reflect upon the content of their teaching, share evidence of student learning, and reflections of their teaching practices (Toll, 2018). Teachers may reflect critically on the curriculum and standards and develop an understanding of the connections between learning data and possible pedagogical approaches. Transformative methods of redistributing power; challenging knowledge
frameworks may connect to the mandate for change may be applied at this level (Shields, 2018). This change may influence greater capacity for educators to develop meaningful understandings of IQ, knowledge, and content.
Priority 4: Collaborative Coaching
Collaborative coaching focuses on the methods and the purpose for teachers working together. Traditionally collaborative coaching facilitates teams of teachers in developing new strategies, deepening reflection, and problem-solving at the group level (Donohoo, 2018). Goddard et al. (2004) suggest that there is a link between “collective efficacy beliefs and group goal attainment” and collaborative coaching may work to help others develop and achieve group- level goals (p. 7). The authors suggest that increasing collaborative action within and across schools is a tool to promote collective teacher efficacy (Goddard et al., 2004).
Changing practices, feelings, or thinking may require different coaching methods than methods that promote teaming or sharing alone. Coaching methods which target improving the collaboration skills of teachers and groups as they learn how to learn together (Toll, 2018). During collaboration, greater levels of Aajiiqatigiingniq, or consensus decision making, and
Piliriqatigiingniq, or collaborative relationships, are established. Coaches may support teams of
communities. Collaboration may call for methods focused on achieving the transformational community-wide education vision; it may also encompass methods to help integrate and implement IQ.
Coaching to support the continuation of collaborative relationships is also important in the northern educational contexts. Matsumura, Garnier, Correnti, Junker, and Bickel (2010) suggest that in organizations with high levels of teacher turnover, new teachers may disrupt existing collaborative efforts. Coaching may work to support ongoing collaborative work by creating opportunities for schools and teachers to improve their practice across academic years (Matsumura, Garnier, Correnti, Junker & Bickel, 2010). Toll (2018) indicates that the coach may act as a monitor for collaboration. Coaches who monitor collaborative work are well positioned to encourage, support, and promote the integration of IQ into, and as an element of, collaborative action. In this role, coaches can monitor whether teachers understand, are implementing, or have made the necessary shifts in their beliefs, perspectives and values (Toll, 2018). Collaboration may also be an indirect monitoring tool that measures the need for further intellectual, affective, or behavioral change or support, and coaches may be well positioned to observe, influence, and corroborate these possible needs.
The Implementation Process
This implementation process is defined by the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Describing the goals as short, mid, or long term has been done to meet the implementation priority requirements. Within each priority, and as a result of each successive goal, there is a process through which an increase in collective teacher efficacy may be monitored or evaluated.
This implementation process may be considered a type of emergent change. Emergent change is characterized by ambiguous and incremental stages; it has the potential to result in
confusion over the possible direction or measurement of newly created outcomes (Cawsey et al., 2016). This implementation process takes an emergent approach since the desired change may not result in one specific outcome and may be best measured as a series of interrelated
interconnected actions and processes. For the purpose of this organizational improvement plan, the processes outlined seek to influence change in the coach’s interactions with both leaders and with educators, and these are defined through short-, mid-, and long-term goal creation.
Short-Term Goal: Consultation
The change planning process begins with consultation during the Awakening stage of the
Change Path Model. Consultation is the transformational element that works to support the
creation of a vision for change among all system stakeholders. Respectful and ongoing
consultation may help to create a foundation which informs coaching actions and targets change. Senge (1990) suggests that developing a shared vision is an important element in fostering genuine commitment rather than simply compliance to organizational goals. Throughout the consultation process, identifying and specifying organizational goals and creating a new vision become “a force in people’s hearts” (Senge, 1990, p. 206). This protocol also helps leaders, teams, and schools identify the steps, roles, actions, and timelines for change.
Nunia Qanatsiaq Anoee (2015), in her work Learning through Tunnganarniq, recognizes the role of collaboration in creating welcoming and successful schools. Of her experience, in one northern community, she states that “having local role models, particularly in the context where Inuit ways of knowing, being, and doing, is an important part of building collaborative
relationships between schools and community” (Qanatsiaq Anoee, 2015, p. 99). Consultation, through identifying the cultural criteria and cultural relevance in education, may result in improved collaborative outcomes and an increase in Tunnganarniq in practice. The author
recommends that consultation with staff and teams helps teachers move from thinking about, my classroom to thinking about, our school, and our community of learners (Qanatsiaq Anoee, 2015). A meaningful consultation process involves groups of individuals listening to, valuing, and respecting the opinions of others. Qanatsiaq Anoee (2015) promotes that when
Tunnganarniq is present, people get motivated to participate and to learn; furthermore, schools
with a more family-like presence are rooted in this affective way of being. Short-Term Goal: Communication
Communication, seen as a second short-term goal and the greatest levels occur during the Awakening and Mobilization stages. Planning for communication is a coaching strategy that strategy that builds trust, improves organizational learning, and increases collective teacher efficacy. Effective communication techniques are important and the ability to communicate effectively in bilingual, cross-cultural settings, may have a profound effect upon both the quality of the consultation process and the ability or desire of teachers to cooperate (Glanz, 2006).
Although ideally all stakeholders would be able to communicate in a bilingual manner, achieving this is not always possible and, in some ways, not something to be desired. Some non- Inuit educators attempt to learn Inuktitut, which is identified as a desired outcome in the
prescribed teaching standards, and the ability to understand and speak Inuktitut may positively benefit non-Inuit in adjusting to living in northern communities. Angutittuq (2002), however, expresses his concerns about non-Inuit learning and expressing their ideas in Inuktitut. Although he believes that it is useful for non-Inuit to learn the Inuit language, he states that “they may see things from the Qallunaaq (non-Inuit) perspective, and it is improper for them to speak Inuit” from this perspective (Angutittuq, 2002, p. 185). Cross-cultural communication methods may require translation of important cultural knowledge, sensitivity to others’ views and experiences,
and greater importance put upon the perspectives of local residents. Direct translation of the language may not, however, translate into ways that Inuit know and understand. In all cases, care must be taken to ensure that the translation recognizes the desires being communicated.
Glanz (2006) outlines a series of barriers to successful communication. These barriers are compared in Table 3. to Karetak and Tester’s (2018) chapter on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and truth and reconciliation in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: What Inuit Have Always Known to Be True. Table 3. provides a series of communication techniques and explains how IQ and communication barriers are interrelated.
Table 3.
IQ and Barriers to Successful Communication
Barriers to Successful
Communication (Glanz, 2006)
IQ and Effective Communication (Karetak & Tester, 2018)
Evaluating others Criticizing Judging Labelling Ordering Threatening Competition Lecturing
Avoiding others’ concerns Diverting
Withdrawing Sarcasm
Knowledge without application has no value.
Skills and information must be applied and practised. Wisdom is built over time.
Knowledge without wisdom can be dangerous. Recognize different world views.
Use fewer words; make more meaning. Practise attentive listening.
Give wait time.
Be aware of facial expression and body language. Pay attention to intonation.
Monitor rate or speed of discussion. Provide dual language opportunities.
Effective communication encompasses authentic listening and verbal and non-verbal communication, but it also includes delivering relevant information and creating learning
conversations through respectful open-ended questioing. In general, effective coaching methods indicate that coaches must strive to create productive working relationships, and communicate effectively (L’Allier et al., 2010). Communication is an important element of coaching in that the “success or failure of a coaching program hinges on the coach’s ability to communicate clearly, build relationships and support fellow teachers” (Knight & Fullan, 2007, p. 57).
Mid-Term Goal: Cooperation
Increasing levels of cooperation among leaders, teachers, and cross-school teams is a mid-term goal since cooperation involves increasing the willingness of others to work together. Cooperation, which may be a result of improved consultation and communication efforts, helps to develop school teams and professional learning environments. Glanz (2006) suggests that when you can develop mutual objectives and shared understandings, a cooperative spirit develops. Cooperation is an indication of how ready a group of individuals are to collaborate. Uline, Tschannen-Moran, and Perez (2003) state that “when organizational participants recognize that they need the cooperation of other members, this awareness fosters open
communication, resource exchange, perspective taking and mutual influence that tend to result in increased productivity” (p. 789).
Bandura (1997) indicates that perceived collective efficacy is a group-level attribute; therefore, the ability to cooperate is required to achieve collective efficacy results. Adopting methods to increase the readiness and limit the reluctance to cooperate may help achieve mid- term goals: approaches may include a deliberate integration of preferential and informal cooperative activities whereby groups of individuals get to know one another, establish relationships, and build trust.
Long-Term Goal: Collaboration
The creation of structures to promote collaborative cultures is a long-term goal since these structures depend on the type of collaboration being implemented. Some collaborative work may require more time, more consultation, and more support; other collaborative work may